Suspected kidnappers of Rhodes-Vivour’s wife paraded

Three members of a gang which allegedly kidnapped the wife, daughter and driver of Supreme Court’s Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, were among seven suspects paraded by the State Security Services (SSS) in Benin City, the Edo State capital, yesterday.

The others were three suspected extortionists, who reportedly threatened to kill their victim if he didn’t pay them and a musician, who was paraded for alleged trafficking in persons.

The SSS State Director, Bello Bakori, who paraded the suspects before Governor Adams Oshiomhole, said they had reportedly confessed to the crime and that three members of the kidnap gang are still at large.

Bakori said Mrs. Rhodes-Vivour and her daughter, who were kidnapped in May, were kept in a house at Upper Sakponba in Benin City from where the kidnap suspects were arrested.

He went on: “All the kidnap suspects were from Delta State while the suspected trafficker is from Edo State.

“The other members of the gang, who are on the run, are Kelly, Koto, Shaggy, Maxwell and Afoke.”

One of the suspects, Austin Umukoro, said they were members of a six-man gang.

He said: “Our first victim was a man who parted with N1.2 million; the Supreme Court judge’s wife, daughter and driver were our second victims.

“For the days we kept them, they were fed with rice, which we bought from eateries. Mattresses were provided for them to sleep in the two-room apartment where they were kept.”

Another suspect, Wisdom Ovwigho, said he was assigned to feed victims.

“The first man we kidnapped, we collected N1.2 million from, and I was given N100,000 before they brought this woman and her daughter.”

The governor said the buildings used by the kidnap suspects to hold the judge’s wife, daughter and driver will be demolished.

He said: “For the landlords, we have already made the decision that anyone who aids and abets kidnapping will have his structure demolished. Any hotelier who does not follow the instruction of documenting who stays in the hotel and such is used for kidnapping or human trafficking we will demolish it. Nobody has the right to make money out of the pains of Nigerians.

“This is a major breakthrough. What is important is for criminals to know that there is no more immunity. It is a matter of when, not whether they would be caught and that the officers and men are determined to do their best and those involved in crime would be brought to justice.

Oshiomhole continued: “Most of these criminals are from Delta State. It shows in this business of crime, criminals are very mobile. No state can find a solution as they keep moving from one state to the other. When their colleagues hear that they have been put on trial, they would look elsewhere.

“The lesson from this effort is that when we report to law enforcement agents, they can be arrested, but when we pay ransom, then we are providing additional incentives for the criminals to remain in business. Every ransom we pay is an opportunity for them to do more. For me, the message is clear; we must resist paying ransom. We must take law enforcement agencies into confidence. We must trust them.

“Let me use this opportunity to appeal to our parents that we must watch over our children, particularly our daughters.”